Turned away at Malaysian embassy

HAVING worked in newsrooms in Malaysia for almost nine years, I am used to reacting to a natural disaster or terrorist attack by contacting the Malaysian Embassy/High Commission in the affected region to find out if all our citizens are safe and accounted for. I always knew these numbers might not be entirely accurate, as not everyone registers despite constant reminders from our missions abroad to do so – but I never took into account how difficult it might be to register oneself.

Recently, I went to the Malaysian Embassy in Beijing to register as a Malaysian working in this city. I always thought that as a Malaysian, my embassy would be my safe haven and that if anything were to go wrong, it would protect me. I always took solace in the notion that if I was in a foreign land and was attacked, robbed of all my possessions and needed help, the embassy would not hesitate to assist me.